Interactive exploded view diagram ordering tool

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a method and computer-readable medium for executing a method of placing an order for a sub-component (part) of a product, including generally three steps: displaying a diagram depicting sub-components of a product in an exploded view on a user screen; receiving a user selection of a sub-component to be ordered; and processing the selection of a sub-component to be ordered. Optionally, the method may allow the user to selectively view further information pertinent to displayed sub-components, such as their prices and specifications, or to selectively zoom in on and zoom out of the exploded view or to scroll the exploded view. The method thus assists the user when attempting to identify and/or order a sub-component for the product. The method may also be implemented in a stand-alone computer system.

CROSS-REFERENCE(S) TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) ofU.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/298,719, filed on Jun. 11,2001.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a computer method and systemfor placing an order, and more particularly, to a method and system forordering sub-component(s) of a product, assisted by an exploded view ofthe product showing the sub-components.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When ordering a replacement part for a product or component of equipmentwhen the part number is not known or is in question, the traditionalapproach includes using two or three tools to accomplish locating andordering the part. The customer or salesperson at the parts counterneeds to first find a materials list, or parts listing table or partslist, that associates the part with the product. Oftentimes, a book ormicrofiche needs to be referred to for a drawing or picture of theproduct that depicts the various pieces of the product in an unassembledstate with the parts arranged in relative positions with respect to howthey are arranged once the product is assembled. This drawing or pictureis commonly referred to as the “exploded view” of the product, since itusually appears as if the product has been expanded or “exploded” apart,with the parts still in the same relative position to each other, exceptmoved apart to be able to better distinguish individual characteristicsof the parts. This view of the product is oftentimes the same as theassembly drawing that is used to assemble the product, since it clearlydepicts how the parts are arranged in order to assemble the product.Each part in an exploded view is usually labeled with a “key” number, or“piece” number (different from the part number), which is used toassociate each part to a materials list. A materials list lists the keynumber together with the corresponding part number, description, andother pertinent information concerning each part in a table format.

Consulting the product's exploded view will usually confirm where a partis located with respect to the other parts in the product, and is veryuseful for trying to identify a replacement part and its part number. Todo this, a person has to first determine the key number of a desiredpart from the exploded view, then find the key number on the materialslist to find its corresponding part number, and then, oftentimes, alsoconsult a separate price list for the price of the desired part.Therefore, once the part is located via the exploded view, the partnumber or key number is used to locate the part in a price list or pointof sale system to determine the price of the part. Thereafter, an orderform is filled out or the part is entered into the point of sale orpurchasing system.

In a similar manner, parts are sometimes first selected from a materialslist or parts list, and then with the part number or key number, theexploded view is examined to confirm that it is the correct part to beordered or purchased. Either way, there are multiple documents that needto be used to identify a desired part and place an order; furthermore,the process needs to be repeated for each part being ordered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method and a computer-readable mediumfor executing a method of placing an order for a sub-component of aproduct. The method includes generally three steps: displaying a diagramdepicting sub-components of a product in an exploded view on a screen,for example, of a client system; receiving a user selection of asub-component to be ordered from the client system; and processing theselection of a sub-component to be ordered. Optionally, the method mayallow the user to selectively zoom in on and zoom out of the explodedview, or selectively scroll the exploded view, so as to better view anydesired sub-components. The method is particularly suited forapplication on a network, such as the Internet.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the method mayfurther include the step of selectively displaying informationconcerning a sub-component in the diagram on the client system inresponse to a user input identifying the sub-component. This feature ishelpful in further assisting the user in determining the characteristicsof, and making a purchasing decision about, any sub-component depictedin the diagram. The information that can be displayed may include anyone or more of the following: (a) a picture or photograph of thesub-component; (b) a key number of the sub-component; (c) anidentification number of the sub-component; (d) a replacement/substituteidentification number of the sub-component; (e) a description of thesub-component; (f) specifications/materials of the sub-component; (g) amanufacturer/supplier of the sub-component; (h) a manufactureridentification number of the sub-component; (i) a stock-keeping-unit(SKU) number of the sub-component; (j) the quantity of thesub-component(s) used in the product; (k) other sub-componentsassociated with the selected sub-component as part of a kit; (l) theprice of the sub-component; (m) the price of the product as a whole; (n)the availability of the sub-component; (o) available varieties of thesub-component; (p) an order icon for ordering the sub-component; and (q)a menu listing one or more pieces of information selected from the groupconsisting of information items (a)-(p) above. When a menu listing oneor more pieces of information is displayed, the method also displays aselected piece of information in response to the user selection of onepiece of information among information items (a) through (o), orprocesses the selection of a sub-component to be ordered in response tothe user selection of information item (p). The user selection ofinformation may be carried out by a user activating a pointing device,such as a computer mouse, stylus, etc., with respect to thesub-component concerning which further information is requested.

Similarly, the user selection of a sub-component to be ordered(purchased) may be carried out by a user activating a pointing devicewith respect to the sub-component to be ordered. A particular method ofselecting a sub-component to be ordered may be pre-selectable by theuser.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the methodfurther includes the step of displaying an order summary list on theclient system. The order summary list shows sub-components that havebeen selected to be ordered.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, the methodfurther includes the step of displaying a materials list on the clientsystem. The materials list lists the sub-components of a product in anexploded view together with various information concerning each of thelisted sub-components. The information to be listed may include any oneor more of: (a) a key number of the sub-component; (b) an identificationnumber of the sub-component; (c) a replacement/substitute identificationnumber of the sub-component; (d) a description of the sub-component; (e)specifications/materials of the sub-component; (f) amanufacturer/supplier of the sub-component; (g) a manufactureridentification number of the sub-component; (h) a stock-keeping-unit(SKU) number of the sub-component; (i) the quantity of thesub-component(s) used in the product; (j) other sub-componentsassociated with the sub-component as part of a kit; (k) the price of thesub-component; (l) the price of the product as a whole; (m) theavailability of the sub-component; and (n) available varieties of thesub-component.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, the stepof processing the selection of a sub-component to be ordered may includesubmitting the order to an order entry/fulfillment system, orautomatically sending the order via a network to asupplier/manufacturer.

The present invention also provides a system for ordering asub-component of a product. The system includes generally threecomponents: means for displaying a diagram depicting sub-components of aproduct in an exploded view on a system screen; means for receiving auser selection of a sub-component to be ordered; and means forprocessing the selection of a sub-component to be ordered. The systemmay be a stand-alone system which, for example, can be located on theparts counter at a parts retail store.

Accordingly, the present invention takes advantage of computertechnology to provide a single tool that enables a person to view parts(sub-components) in an exploded view diagram, selectively view theprices and other pertinent information (e.g., photos) about the parts inthe diagram, and select parts from the diagram to be ordered. Therefore,a person only needs to utilize the interactive exploded view diagramordering tool of the present invention when identifying parts andplacing an order for the parts. It is ideally suited for, but notlimited to, E-commerce Internet applications selling products and partsfor those products, especially when the products comprise equipment thatis made of multiple parts, many of which are purchased as replacementparts for that equipment. It can also be used for facilitating partslocation and identification work performed by parts counter personnelwaiting on customers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of thisinvention will become more readily appreciated as the same become betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description, whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an illustrative operatingenvironment for implementing a method according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram depicting an illustrative architecture of aclient computer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2B is a block diagram depicting an illustrative architecture of aserver of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the steps performed in a methodaccording to one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 4A-4H are sample screen shots of an exploded view ordering toolWeb page according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As described above, aspects of the present invention are embodied in acommunication network, such as the Internet, more specifically in a Website accessible via the Internet. As is well known to those skilled inthe art, the term “Internet” refers to the collection of networks androuters that use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol(TCP/IP) or the Uniform Datagram Packet/Internet Protocol (UDP/IP) tocommunicate with one another. Each of the networks in the Internet inturn includes a number of computers or servers and related devices.Communication links within and amongst the networks can be of apermanent nature, such as via cables, or can be of a temporary nature,such as connections made through telephone or radio links.

As the Internet has grown, so has the World Wide Web (WWW or “the Web”).The Web is a vast collection of interconnected documents written inHyperText Markup Language (HTML) or other markup languages, which areelectronically stored at “Web sites” throughout the Internet. A Web siteis a server connected to the Internet that has mass storage facilitiesfor storing hypertext documents and that runs software for handlingrequests for those stored hypertext documents. A hypertext documentnormally includes a number of hyperlinks, i.e., highlighted portions oftext that link the document to another hypertext document possiblystored at a Web site elsewhere on the Internet. Each hyperlink isassociated with a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that provides the exactlocation of the linked document on a server connected to the Internetand describes the linked document. As is well known to those skilled inthe art, a Web site may store not only static information, but alsoprovide dynamic content that changes depending on interaction between auser (or the Web browser executing on the user's computer) and the Website. To this end, a Web server may include facilities for executingscripts and other application programs on the Web server itself.

A user is allowed to retrieve hypertext documents from the Web via a Webbrowser. A Web browser, such as Microsoft's INTERNET EXPLORER® orNetscape's NAVIGATOR®, is a software program implemented by a Webclient, i.e., the user's computer, to provide a graphical user interface(GUI) to the Web. Upon request by the user via the Web browser, the Webclient accesses and retrieves the desired hypertext document from theappropriate Web server using the URL for the document and a protocolknown as HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). HTTP is a higher-levelprotocol than TCP/IP and is designed specifically for the requirementsof the Web. It is used on top of TCP/IP to transfer hypertext documentsbetween servers and clients.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an illustrative operating environment forimplementing a method of the present invention will be described. Eachclient computer 10 connects to the Internet 12 through a modem or othertype of connection known in the art. Once connected to the Internet, theclient computer 10 may utilize its Web browser to view and interact withweb sites such as a Web site provided by an exploded view ordering toolserver 14 of the present invention. The client computer 10, asillustrated, may be a general-purpose personal computer capable ofexecuting a Web browser. Alternatively, the client computer 10 may beanother type of computing device, such as a portable computer, palm-topcomputer, cellular telephone, pager, personal digital assistance, andthe like.

FIG. 2A depicts several key components of an exemplary client computer10 of FIG. 1. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatthe client computer 10 may include many more components than those shownin FIG. 2A. However, it is not necessary that all of these generallyconventional components be shown in order to disclose an illustrativeembodiment for practicing a method of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 2A, the client computer 10 includes a network interface 20 forconnecting to the Internet 12. Those of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that the network interface 20 includes the necessarycircuitry for such a connection, and is also constructed for use withthe TCP/IP protocol. The client computer 10 also includes a processingunit 21, a display 22, an input device 23, and a memory 24, allinterconnected along with the network interface 20 via a bus 25. Thememory 24 generally includes a random-access memory (RAM), a read-onlymemory (ROM), and a permanent mass storage device, such as a disk drive.The memory 24 stores an operating system 26 for controlling theoperation of the client computer 10. The memory 24 also includes a Webbrowser 28 for accessing the Web, such as Microsoft's INTERNETEXPLORER®, Netscape's NAVIGATOR®, or Phone.com's UP.Browser®. The Webbrowser 28 is used to access the exploded view ordering tool Web site ofthe present invention, as will be more fully described below.

FIG. 2B depicts several of the key components of the exploded viewordering tool server 14 of FIG. 1. As before, those of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that the server 14 includes many more componentsthan those shown in FIG. 2B, but it is not necessary to show all ofthese generally conventional components in order to disclose anillustrative embodiment for practicing a method of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 2B, the server 14 is connected to theInternet 12 via a network interface 30. The server 14 also includes aprocessing unit 31, a display 32, an input device 33, and a mass memory34, all interconnected along with the network interface 30 via a bus 35.The mass memory 34 generally consists of a RAM, a ROM, and a permanentmass storage device, such as a hard disk drive, tape drive, opticaldrive, floppy disk drive, or combination thereof. The mass memory 34stores an operating system 36 for controlling the operation of theserver 14. It will be appreciated that the operating system 36 may be ageneral-purpose server operating system as is known to those skilled inthe art, such as UNIX®, LINUX®, or Microsoft WINDOWS NT®. The massmemory 34 also includes three sub-servers: a web server 37, anapplication server 38, and a database server 39. It should beappreciated by those skilled in the art that these sub-servers may becoupled together in various ways, perhaps via a network, and need notreside in a single physical location. The web server 37 supports theexploded view ordering tool Web page of the present invention. Theapplication server 38 includes and controls the computer-executableprogram for carrying out a method of the present invention, i.e.,displaying a diagram depicting sub-components of a product in anexploded view on a client system; receiving a user selection of asub-component to be ordered via the Web browser executing on the clientsystem; and processing the selection of a sub-component to be ordered.The database server 39 stores and manages data, such as informationconcerning the sub-components of various products, for use by theapplication server 38. This type of server configuration and computercommunication is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

A method of the present invention is well suited for a Web application,which consists of server side programs in the server 14 that interactwith the web browser 28 or client program (client) running on a clientcomputer 10. The client program may be initially downloaded from theserver 14 as part of the Web page from the server 14. The client programcan be developed using several different programming languages,including client side scripting languages like JavaScript™ or VBScript,or it can be written using Java™ applets, ActiveX® controls, or similarprograms. The server side programs are typically running on a Web server37 or application server 38 and can be integrated into an E-commerceapplication. Essentially, the server side programs send exploded viewdiagrams (and various information concerning sub-components) to theclient program, and receive the sub-component ordering information fromthe client program. To present the information on the client computer10, HTML can be used in conjunction with the client side scriptinglanguages when the information is displayed as a Web page. If the clientprogram is written using Java™ applets or ActiveX® controls, languagespecific constructs are used to display the information and provide theinteractivity like zooming, selecting parts, etc. Also, HTML andJavaScript™ may be used to specify what functionality is to be given tothe client computer 10, as will be more fully described below. Theexploded view diagrams are stored in a common Web image format such asGIF or JPEG.

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary steps to be taken in a method of thepresent invention as applied on the Internet for placing an order for asub-component of a product. In the present description, the term“sub-components” of a product is used to describe not only the parts andother items that jointly form a complete product, but also anyaccessories or components that are typically associated or affiliatedwith a single product. At block 40, the server 14 receives a requestfrom the client computer 10 for the exploded view ordering tool Webpage. This request may be made using any method, e.g., by a userdirectly entering the URL of the Web page on the client computer 10 oractivating a hyperlink (or shortcut) on the client computer 10 to theWeb page. At block 41, in response to the request, the server 14transmits the Web page to the client computer 10. A sample Web page 60is shown in FIG. 4A. As illustrated, the Web page 60 lists a number ofselectable product categories 61. Each category in turn lists a numberof products thereunder, via a pull-down menu, for example.

In FIG. 3, at block 42, the user's product selection is received. Forexample, the user may select a particular product in the Web page 60 byclicking a computer mouse on the product. Other methods of selecting anitem in a Web page will be also apparent to those skilled in the art. Atblock 43, the information regarding the selected product is displayed onthe client computer 10. Again referring to FIG. 4A, various informationconcerning the selected product (“Automatic Water Pump 36900-10000” inthe illustrated example) is displayed in a screen frame 62. The screenframe 62 also displays an “exploded view” icon 63 prompting the user toview an exploded view of the selected product. In FIG. 3, at block 44,if a request for an exploded view is received (e.g., by the userclicking a computer mouse on the “exploded view” icon 63), at block 45,the requested exploded view of the product is displayed on the clientcomputer 10, as shown in FIG. 4B, screen frame 64. At block 45, a clientprogram may also be downloaded from the server 14 to the client computer10, as discussed above. It should be understood by those skilled in theart that the means for displaying an exploded view in accordance withthe present invention is not limited to a conventional two-dimensionaldisplay, as shown in FIG. 4B. Rather, the present invention may bepracticed using any other types of display systems suitable fordisplaying an exploded view, which are now and may in the future beavailable, including three-dimensional displays, virtual reality displaysystems, and animated assembly and disassembly systems.

In FIG. 3, at block 46, as the exploded view of the product isdisplayed, the Web page may also display a materials list/order summarylist 65 in a table format (labeled as “Materials List” in FIG. 4B.) Thematerials list lists the sub-components of a product in the explodedview 64, together with information concerning each of the listedsub-components to help the user identify the characteristics of eachsub-component. For example, the materials list may list any one or morepieces of information as follows: (a) a key number of the sub-component(i.e., circled numbers 1 through 20 in the exploded view 64 of FIG. 4B),which is used to help locate the sub-component in the exploded view; (b)an identification number of the sub-component (i.e., a part number); (c)a replacement/substitute identification number of the sub-component(i.e., a replacement/substitute part number); (d) a description of thesub-component (e.g., a part name); (e) specifications/materials of thesub-component (e.g., brass, steel, aluminum, etc.); (f) amanufacturer/supplier of the sub-component; (g) a manufactureridentification number of the sub-component (i.e., a manufacturer partnumber); (h) a stock-keeping-unit (SKU) number of the sub-component,which uniquely identifies the sub-component in a catalog orderingapplication; (i) the quantity of the sub-component(s) used (or required)in the product; (j) other sub-components associated with thesub-component as part of a kit (see, for example, the “Service Kit” and“Parts Included with Base Kit” lists shown in FIG. 4C, screen frame 70);(k) the price of the sub-component; (l) the price of the product as awhole; (m) the availability of the sub-component; and (n) availablevarieties of the sub-component (e.g., the same sub-components but madeof different materials). The sample materials list 65 in FIG. 4B lists:a key number, identification number (part number), description (partname), and price of each sub-component, together with the number ofsub-components used (or required) in the product (“Qty Req'd”). Thematerials list may be part of the exploded view, adjacent to it, or onan auxiliary screen view (as shown in FIG. 4B). Displaying the materialslist and the exploded view at the same time significantly aids the userwhen attempting to identify and/or order a sub-component (part) for aproduct.

The materials list shown in FIG. 4B is in fact a combination of amaterials list and an order summary list (materials list/order summarylist), in that the list 65 also includes a column showing the number ofsub-component(s) that have been selected to be ordered under the heading“Qty” (i.e., an order summary list). In the example of FIG. 4B, nosub-component has been selected to be ordered yet, so every box in the“Qty” column is empty. In the illustrated example, the order summarylist includes order quantity (“Qty”) boxes only for those sub-componentsthat can be ordered (or requested for quotation). In one embodiment,when a sub-component that cannot be ordered (e.g., out of stock) isselected, a message is displayed advising the user to call asupplier/manufacturer.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, there are many ways ofpresenting various information in accordance with the present invention.For example, the exploded view diagram and materials list/order summarylist can be displayed in a single window, in two separate frames in asingle window, or in two separate pop-up windows. Because the explodedview diagram and materials list/order summary list can be quite large,it has been found that displaying the information in two separate framesin a single window (as shown in FIG. 4B) is an effective way tomeaningfully display the information, since most browsers will displayscroll bars for selective viewing.

Although in the illustrated embodiment, the materials list/order summarylist is described as including information concerning all thesub-components included in the exploded view diagram, in anotherembodiment, a materials list/order summary list may be created to listthe information pertinent to only those sub-component(s) that areselected by the user from the exploded view. This option may bepreferable when, for example, multiple variations exist for the samesub-component (e.g., the same part is available in different materials),and displaying the materials list/order summary list for each variationmay take up too much space.

In FIG. 3, at block 47, if the user requests to zoom in on the explodedview to better view the details of individual sub-components by, forexample, clicking the “Full Size Image” button 66 in FIG. 4B, azoomed-in view of the exploded view is displayed, as shown in FIG. 4C,screen frame 67. At this time, an adjacent frame 68 including thematerial list/order summary list is correspondingly reduced. In FIG. 3,at block 48, the user may request to zoom out of the zoomed-in view toreturn to the original exploded view by, for example, clicking the“Reduced Image” button 69 in FIG. 4C. When a zoomed-in view isrequested, only a portion of the exploded view diagram may be displayed.In such a case, referring to FIG. 3, block 49, the user may request toscroll the zoomed-in view by, for example, using a scroll bar 70 in FIG.4C. FIG. 4D shows the zoomed-in exploded view scrolled to the right.

To accomplish the functionality of displaying an entire exploded viewdiagram and then being able to display a zoomed-in view to show closerdetails of individual sub-components requires some means to change thedisplay size or resolution of the diagram image. There are manytechniques to display multiple sizes or resolutions of an image on theWeb. One simple technique is to use multiple images. One image can besized so that the entire diagram can be displayed in the viewer frame. Asecond image can be sized so that the sub-components included thereinare larger and it is easier to view the distinguishing characteristicsof the sub-components and to select the correct sub-components from thediagram. To achieve multiple levels of zoom, multiple images can beused. Another technique is to use a single image. In this case, oneapproach to achieve zooming in and out is to dynamically change theheight and width dimensions of the image in HTML or equivalentprogramming language. When the “zoom in” control is selected, thedimensions of the image are set to large values to display a largerimage of each sub-component. Selecting the “zoom out” control sets thedimensions to low values so the entire diagram is displayed within theframe. Many levels of zoom can be achieved by choosing different heightand width dimensions.

The zoom controls need to be easily identifiable to the user as a meansto change the resolution of the diagram. These controls can be HTML formbuttons, clickable image links, or HTML text links. If multiple imagesare used to achieve zooming in/out, the clicking on a zoom control wouldload different Web pages that contain the appropriately sized images, orwhen calling a server program, pass a parameter that tells the serverprogram to display the appropriately sized image. If a single imageapproach is used, selecting the zoom control would call a JavaScript™ orsimilar programming language function to change the image size.

When an image that is larger than the frame is displayed, most Webbrowsers automatically display the scroll bars in the frame to enablethe user to scroll around the diagram, as explained above. Also, to aidin navigating extremely large diagrams, a panning control can be used.This function would show the user where they are in the overall diagramwhen they are navigating around while in the zoomed-in mode. Thisfunctionality is supported by any industry standard panning software. Inone variation of the invention, the panning control includes a smallseparate window that displays the entire diagram. Superimposed on thediagram is a box that shows the region of the diagram that is currentlydisplayed in the viewer frame. As the user scrolls around the diagram,this box can move to show the currently displayed region. The user canalso click and slide the box around using a computer mouse, for example.This allows the diagram to be scrolled in the viewer frame. As the userzooms in and out, the box shrinks or grows to show the currently viewedregion of the diagram.

In FIG. 3, at block 50, the user may request to receive a “pop-up” viewconcerning a particular sub-component included in the exploded view toobtain further information about the sub-component. The user may selecta particular sub-component, for which additional information isrequested, from any one of the original exploded view (block 45 in FIG.3), zoomed-in view (block 47), and scrolled view (block 49), using anypointing device known in the art. For example, the pointing device maybe a computer mouse that can be clicked (right-click, left-click,single-click, double-click, etc.) on or simply placed over thesub-component (or a key number of the sub-component) to be selected; astylus that can be pointed to the sub-component (or a key number of thesub-component) to be selected, or even a finger or any digital objectthat can be used to touch the sub-component (or a key number of thesub-component) to be selected on a touch-screen system. As a furtherexample, a pointing device may be a conventional keyboard, wherein theuser can sequentially “tab” through the sub-components listed in thematerials list/order summary list using, for example, an arrow key andselect a particular sub-component by, for example, striking the “enter”key one or more times. As still further examples, the selection of asub-component may be achieved using various other pointing devices thatare now and may in the future be available, such as virtual realitygloves and eye movement tracking systems. Thus, one skilled in the artshould understand that the selection of a sub-component using a pointingdevice, according to the present application, may be carried out byusing various screen or monitor positioning and location identifyingtechniques.

A pop-up view can either be a momentary window that appears, forexample, while touching or “mousing over” the sub-component (i.e.,positioning the cursor over the sub-component without clicking), or aregular window or a different screen (or frame) window, any of whichwould result from the act of selecting the sub-component. The pop-upview displays information concerning the selected sub-component, whichcan be used to aid the user in better identifying the characteristics ofthe sub-component and making a decision whether to order thesub-component. The information to be included in a pop-up view mayinclude one or more of the following: (a) a picture or photograph of thesub-component; (b) a key number of the sub-component; (c) anidentification number of the sub-component; (d) a replacement/substituteidentification number of the sub-component; (e) a description of thesub-component; (f) specifications/materials of the sub-component; (g) amanufacturer/supplier of the sub-component; (h) a manufactureridentification number of the sub-component; (i) a stock-keeping-unit(SKU) number of the sub-component; (j) the quantity of thesub-component(s) used in the product; (k) other sub-componentsassociated with the selected sub-component as part of a kit; (l) theprice of the sub-component; (m) the price of the product as a whole; (n)the availability of the sub-component; (o) available varieties of thesub-component; (p) an order icon for ordering the sub-component; and (q)a menu listing one or more pieces of information selected from the groupconsisting of information items (a)-(p) above.

For example, referring to FIG. 4D, when a user selects sub-component“12” (“Base Assembly”) by placing a computer mouse over the key number“12” of the sub-component in the exploded view, as noted by referencenumber 71, referring to FIG. 4E, a pop-up window 72 is displayed,listing the description (name), identification number (part number),manufacturer, and manufacturer identification number (manufacturer partnumber) of the sub-component. The pop-up window 72 further includes amenu 73 including an order icon for ordering the sub-component (“Add toList”) and an option to view a photograph of the sub-component (“ViewPhoto”). Referring to FIG. 3, block 51, when the user selects an optionin the menu 73, the selected option is displayed or is carried out. Forexample, when the user clicks or places a computer mouse on the “ViewPhoto,” as indicated by reference number 74, a photograph of theselected sub-component (i.e., “Base Assembly” in the illustratedexample), is displayed in a screen frame 75 for the user's view.

Alternatively or additionally, referring to FIG. 4F, when the userclicks or places a computer mouse on the “Add to List” icon 76 in themenu, the sub-component (“Base Assembly”) is selected to be ordered andthus is included in the order summary list, as indicated by referencenumber 77 in FIG. 4F. This step corresponds to FIG. 3, block 52. In FIG.4F, the quantity box in the order summary list indicates that threeunits of the “Base Assembly” have been selected to be ordered. In oneembodiment, selecting the “Add to List” icon 76 (e.g., by clicking onthe icon) repeatedly will increment the order quantity for the selectedsub-component in the order summary list. For example, clicking a mouseon the “Add to List” icon 76 once will select one “Base Assembly” to beordered, clicking a mouse on the “Add to List” icon 76 twice will selecttwo “Base Assemblies” to be ordered, and so forth. Alternatively, theuser may simply enter the number of sub-components to be ordered in theorder summary list using a keyboard. This is shown in FIG. 3, wherein anarrow extends from block 46, which displays an order summary list, toblock 52, which adds a sub-component to be ordered in the order summarylist.

One technique for allowing a user to select a sub-component to beordered directly in an order summary list is to list the order summarylist (or a combined materials list/order summary list) as an HTML form,and display a text field for each part in the form to enter and/or editorder quantities. To select the desired sub-components and specify theorder quantity, the user enters the order quantity in the text fields.

Further alternatively, the user selection of a sub-component to beordered may be carried out by the user clicking a computer mouse on thesub-component itself (or a key number of the sub-component) to beordered, touching the sub-component (or a key number of thesub-component) to be ordered on a touch-screen system, or otherwiseselecting the sub-component to be ordered using any pointing deviceemploying various screen or monitor positioning and location identifyingtechniques, as described above. Note that in FIG. 3, arrows extend alsofrom blocks 45 (original exploded view), 47 (zoomed-in exploded view),49 (scrolled exploded view), and 50 (a pop-up view) all to block 52(selection of a sub-component to be ordered), illustrating that theselection of a sub-component to be ordered may be carried out from anyof these various views.

To select sub-components from the exploded view diagram, some means isnecessary to identify the sub-components in the diagram with respect tothe position of the pointing device used (e.g., cursor, finger touch,etc.). To achieve this, an HTML image map or equivalent is used with thediagram. To associate each sub-component, or the key number for eachsub-component, with the materials list/order summary list, acommercially available mapping tool can be used, such as CuteMAP™ byGlobalSCAPE, Inc. The URLs defined in the image map uniquely identifythe sub-components, to which the image map entries are mapped.Typically, the URLs include the part numbers for each sub-component.When a mapped sub-component is selected, the browser loads theassociated URL in the image map. Loading a URL can either execute aJavaScript™ function or call a server program to perform the desiredfunction of incrementally adding an order quantity to the order quantitybox in the materials list/order summary list (or displaying theadditional information about the sub-component in a pop-up view, asdescribed above).

In one embodiment, a particular method of the user selection of asub-component to be ordered may be selectable by the user. One way toaccomplish this is to provide the user the opportunity to change thefunctionality associated with a method of the present invention byselecting a different display mode. For example, two HTML radio buttonscan be used for activating the functionality for (1) selecting asub-component to be ordered by clicking an order icon (e.g., “Add toList” icon), or (2) selecting a sub-component to be ordered by clickingon the sub-component itself. As another example, two HTML radio buttonscan be used for activating the functionality for (1) adding asub-component to the order summary list (or even directly to a “shoppingcart,” as will be discussed later) upon selection of the sub-component,or (2) displaying information pertinent to a sub-component uponselection of the sub-component.

In another embodiment, two methods of sub-component selection areavailable to the user at the same time, so that the user can not onlyview additional information concerning a sub-component by selecting thesub-component using the first method but also select a sub-component tobe ordered by selecting the sub-component using the second method. Forexample, in one embodiment, when the user right clicks on asub-component, a pop-up view including various information concerningthe sub-component is displayed, while when the user left clicks on asub-component, the sub-component is selected to be ordered and placed inan order summary list. As another example, when the user single clickson a sub-component, a pop-up view is displayed, while when the userdouble clicks on a sub-component, the sub-component is selected to beordered. In other words, various arrangements are possible wherein theuser's chosen method of selecting a sub-component determines whether apop-up view of the sub-component is displayed or the sub-component is tobe ordered (i.e., added to an order summary list).

In yet another embodiment, the user may request a pop-up view of aparticular sub-component by selecting the sub-component (e.g., byplacing a mouse over the sub-component), and then may request to add thesame sub-component to an order summary list by selecting thesub-component for the second time (e.g., by clicking a mouse on the samesub-component). Another example of a similar approach is to display apop-up view upon the first clicking of a mouse on a sub-component (or akey number of the sub-component), with an order (“Add To List”) iconbeing included in the pop-up view by default, and to increment the orderquantity in an order summary list upon the second clicking on the ordericon.

Referring back to FIG. 3, at block 53, the user may be prompted to addthe sub-components listed in the order summary list to a so-called“shopping cart.” In FIG. 4F, “Add to (Shopping) Barge” button 78 isdisplayed for this purpose. The function and operation of a “shoppingcart” is well known in the E-commerce art and thus is not described indetail here. When the user so requests by, for example, clicking on the“Add to Barge” button 78, in FIG. 3, at block 54, all the sub-componentslisted in the order summary list, whose order quantity is more thanzero, are added to a shopping cart. At this time, the Web page may looklike FIG. 4G. In FIG. 4G, a screen frame 79 displays a notice to theuser that the request was processed successfully (i.e., the selectedsub-components have been added from the order summary list to theshopping cart). The screen frame 79 also displays a prompt asking theuser whether he wishes to continue shopping. This step corresponds toFIG. 3, block 55. If the user wishes to continue shopping, at block 56,the exploded view may be closed. Then, at block 57, a shopping cart isupdated and displayed (see FIG. 4H, “Shopping Barge” 81, listing theorders that have been added to the shopping cart together with theupdated monetary total), and the method returns to either FIG. 3, block41 to display the initial Web page listing various products, or to block43 to display the information regarding the last selected product. Thesample screen shot of FIG. 4H illustrates that the method has returnedto block 43 to display the information regarding the product (“AutomaticWater Pump 36900-10000”) that was last selected.

In FIG. 3, at block 55, if the user indicates that he does not wish tocontinue shopping, at block. 58, the exploded view may be closed. Thismay occur in response to the user selecting a “Close Window” button 80in FIG. 4G. Thereafter, in FIG. 3, block 59, the order for thesub-component(s) placed in the shopping cart is processed (checked out)This may occur in response to the user selecting a “Checkout” button 82,as shown in FIG. 4H.

Various modifications are available to the method of processing theselection of a sub-component to be ordered, described above in referenceto FIG. 3. For example, selecting a sub-component in the diagram may addthe sub-component directly to the shopping cart, sales order, orpurchase order. In this case, the user will not be prompted to add theselected sub-component(s) to be ordered to the shopping cart. Rather, aselectable link adds the identified sub-component(s) directly to theshopping cart, sales order, or purchase order. Thus, the processing of aselection of a sub-component to be ordered, as used in the presentinvention, is not limited to simply placing a sub-component that isselected to be ordered into a shopping cart upon a user's request, inthe case of an E-commerce application.

In one embodiment, processing of the selection of sub-component(s) to beordered may include submitting the order to any suitable back-officeorder entry/fulfillment system (e.g., a Material Requirement Planning(MRP) system), or automatically sending the order via a network (e.g.,the Internet, including an extranet, wired or wireless) to asupplier/manufacturer.

Once the selection of a sub-component to be ordered is thus processed,any remaining steps typically involved in processing an order, such aspackaging and shipping the ordered sub-component(s), are carried out.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the user mayprint the exploded view and materials list/order summary list using aprint button that uses Java™ or another equally suited program languageto access the browser's print functions, or using a simpler method toassociate the exploded view diagram and materials list/order summarylist with one standard Web page so that the user's browser print buttonfunctions can be accessed for printing the information. The printout ofthe exploded view and materials list/order summary list can be used fordisassembly and reassembly of the product for repair, maintenance, ortroubleshooting.

The foregoing discusses a method of the present invention embodied in anInternet-based Web application. Alternatively, it can be readily seenthat the same can be implemented in other network-based applicationsincluding extranet-based, local area network (LAN)-based, and wide areanetwork (WAN)-based applications, or a client-server application,stand-alone application, or “point of sale” or inventory computer systemusing standard computer application development techniques. To takeadvantage of a networked system, though, a stand-alone application maybe coupled to a suitable network for the purpose of submitting an orderto an order entry/fulfillment system (e.g., a Material RequirementPlanning (MRP) system), or automatically sending an order to asupplier/manufacturer via the network.

According to the present invention, whether a method is implemented asan Internet-based application or is embodied in a stand-alone system,for each family of sub-components (parts) that make up a product, themethod allows a user to view the exploded view, associated materialslist(s) and/or order summary list(s), and pertinent information or linksto the information about the sub-components in the exploded view, whichcould assist the user when attempting to identify and/or order asub-component for the product. It can be readily seen that the benefitsof the present invention include, among other things, the ability todisplay sub-components for purchasing while the sub-components areassociated with the other sub-components of the assembly for ease ofidentification, and to quickly provide relevant information about eachsub-component or a family of sub-components that is selected. Thebenefits further include the ability to allow the user to directly addsub-components to an order summary list, purchasing summary list, or asin the case of E-commerce Web sales, to a “shopping cart,” sales order,or purchase order without any other intervening steps.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustratedand described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1-49. (canceled)
 50. A method of placing an order for a sub-component ofa product, comprising: displaying a diagram depicting sub-components ofa product in an exploded view on a user system; selectively zooming inon and zooming out of the exploded view in response to a user input;selectively scrolling the exploded view in response to a user input;receiving a user selection of a sub-component to be ordered from theuser system; displaying a materials list on the user system, thematerials list listing the sub-components of the product in an explodedview together with information concerning the listed sub-components, andfurther indicating the sub-components that have been selected to beordered; and processing the selection of a sub-component to be ordered.51. The method of claim 50, further comprising the step of selectivelydisplaying information concerning a sub-component in the diagram on theuser system in response to a user input identifying the sub-component,wherein the information concerning a sub-component comprises one or morepieces of information selected from the group consisting of: (a) apicture or photograph of the sub-component; (b) a key number of thesub-component; (c) an identification number of the sub-component; (d) areplacement/substitute identification number of the sub-component; (e) adescription of the sub-component; (f) specifications/materials of thesub-component; (g) a manufacturer/supplier of the sub-component; (h) amanufacturer identification number of the sub-component; (i) astock-keeping-unit (SKU) number of the sub-component; (j) the quantityof the sub-component(s) used in the product; (k) other sub-componentsassociated with the selected sub-component as part of a kit; (l) theprice of the sub-component; (m) the price of the product as a whole; (n)the availability of the sub-component; (o) available varieties of thesub-component; (p) an order icon for ordering the sub-component; and (q)a menu listing one or more pieces of information selected from the groupconsisting of information items (a)-(p) above, wherein the methodfurther comprises the step of selectively displaying a piece ofinformation from the menu in response to a user input selecting one ofinformation items (a) through (o), or processing the selection of asub-component to be ordered in response to a user input selectinginformation item (p).
 52. The method of claim 50, which is applied on anetwork, the network being selected from the group consisting of theInternet, an extranet, a local area network, a wide area network, or awireless network.
 53. A method of placing an order for a sub-componentof a product, comprising: displaying a digital image depictingsub-components of a product in an exploded view on a user system;selectively zooming in on and zooming out of the exploded view inresponse to a user input; receiving a user selection of a sub-componentto be ordered from the user system; displaying an order summary list onthe user system, the order summary list showing sub-components that havebeen selected to be ordered; and processing the selection of asub-component to be ordered.
 54. The method of claim 53 wherein thedigital image is a photographic image.